Overview: In the Summer of 2004, Loins Gate
Entertainment produced "Frankenstein," a TV movie for USA Network,
inspired by the classic Mary Shelley book. The TV movie aired on
the USA Network in mid-October, and Grecco's images were used in
print ads, email marketing, and throughout the movie's interactive
website (www.usanetwork.com/movies/frankenstein). Grecco
shot the job in New Orleans, and a day was dedicated for the shoot
during the time the movie was in production.

1. Get the Job and Hire the Right Team

Michael Grecco was contacted by Elisabeth Sinsabaugh, Executive
Director of Photography at NBC Universal, with whom Grecco has
worked for more than 10 years. "This was a 'Television Gallery," a
routine thing in the industry that consists of taking photos of a
production's cast based on a shot list for use in many different
marketing efforts," says Grecco.

When asked why Michael Grecco was selected, Sinsabaugh noted,
"We wanted to shoot digitally and we knew Michael had been working
this way for some time. I knew that these photos needed to reflect
a quality of light that was very dark, dramatic and eerie - without
sacrificing shadow detail. Also, there were a lot of technical and
logistical issues inherent on this kind of shoot that I knew
Michael could overcome while still being capable of focusing on
what we needed."

With regard to digital photography, Sinsabaugh added, "We made a
commitment four years ago to shoot all our episodic coverage
[photography done on-set while filming] digitally. Early this year
we decided that the technology was far enough along to commit to
shooting our galleries digital as well…Workflow is a big
factor for us because we have so many assignments and people all
around the world shooting for us; We've put together digital
guidelines and delivery requirements that photographers must
follow."

Landing jobs like this comes from a multi-faceted approach.
Grecco notes, "One of the ways I keep in touch with art directors
and others in the industry is by sending out printed and email
promos containing images from recent projects and other news about
the studio. I have also invested a lot in the creation of my
printed and online portfolios." For this job, Grecco's cast
included: a producer, to oversee the whole project; a location
scout, to find a suitable space in New Orleans for the shoot; a
digital technician, to operate the computer system and make sure
images were being captured and backed up properly; three photo
assistants; six hair/makeup and stylists and about 15 of the
grip/electric crew from the movie. On the client side was the
director of photography and the network publicist, who is
responsible for making sure the actors are prepared and ready when
needed on set.

2. Choose the Right Location and Equipment

Grecco arrived in New Orleans the day before the scheduled shoot
and visited three potential spaces with the director of photography
and a location scout. He explains: "We chose to rent a huge
five-story mansion for the next day. The location had already been
used during the filming of the movie and everyone was happy with
the choice. I was sent shots from the client ahead of time and we
all viewed a few "dailies" on video the evening before the shoot to
get a feel for the overall mood and specific character traits of
each actor."

A Dual 2Ghz Power Mac G5 and 23'' Apple Cinema Display were used
to shoot tethered during the shoot, and lighting equipment included
Dyna-Lite power packs, softboxes, and multiple flash heads with
grid spots. Two Comet battery-powered strobe units with four
battery packs were also on-hand. "Most of the power was supplied by
two gas-powered generators, brought in by the movie's production
crew. Apart from a lightning storm that forced all electricity to
be shut off for a few hours, one of the generator pumps blew up
during the shoot, which underscores the need for backup equipment
in all areas, from cameras to computers to lighting," says Grecco.
UPS battery backups with built-in surge suppressors were also
brought in for all the equipment. Grecco's staff often brings a
fully charged UPS to a shoot, which can power a laptop for an extra
3 to 4 hours if needed. Grecco continues, "Since we had a long list
of shots to do, I decided in advance to have the next one or two
sets prepared while I was shooting in other areas of the
house."

3. Calibrate, Clean and Light it Right

Calibration and sensor cleaning were similar to the Jesse
McCartney project. Grecco's lighting was a critical component of
the shoot, and his approach was as follows: "I shot with a
combination of Dyna-Lite softboxes (some aiming up from the ground
for added mood) and multiple grid spots to create the spot-lit and
dark mood. PocketWizards were used at all times so that we could
cut down on the number of wires, and the Valeo worked flawlessly in
this regard. Once the overall lighting was set for an image, I'd
check it on-screen with the client and determine what adjustments
needed to be made."

4. Shoot, Backup and Edit

During the shoot, the director of photography was at the camera
with Grecco, and after a certain number of exposures, they reviewed
the images on-screen. Stratton explains the storage and backup
routine: "The initial data during the shoot is written directly to
the G5 via a FireWire cable from the camera, and we set up
synchronization software (Synchronize! Pro X) that runs every few
minutes; It copies all new data onto an external 200GB LaCie
FireWire drive. Recently we had one of the drives create garbled
data, so we now check the third data set throughout the day. We do
this simply by looking at the images in Photoshop's File Browser on
a laptop, but we also open every 100th image as an additional
check."

He adds, "We did not edit as this client wanted the full take.
The only shots which got axed were singles that had blinks or
really bad expressions and that was done on-the-fly as the shoot
progressed. These edits were done with Leaf Contact Sheet in the
Capture software while the pictures were being taken."

5. Process & Deliver

Stratton continues by describing how the team was able to
process and deliver more than 1,500 126MB RGB files to the client
within 24 hours: "Since we had worked interactively with the client
throughout the shoot, all the settings that were appropriate for
each different setup were already created and saved with the
images. At the end of the day, the computers were hooked up back at
the hotel and there was only about an hour of work needed to
prepare the images for batch processing. Once again Photoshop CS
and Dr. Brown's Image Processor were utilized for image
processing."

File processing ran overnight and into the next day. The files
were prepped as 16-bit RGB files with no sharpening; This is a
sophisticated client that needed the images for multiple purposes,
and we trusted them to make the correct adjustments to the files
before final reproduction. Final images were then copied to hard
drives and shipped via FedEx that afternoon. The only way we were
able to provide this rapid delivery was by staying organized on the
set and getting the client to sign off on each setup throughout the
day. Having extremely high quality equipment from capture to
download didn't hurt either."